Although I agree that not all atheists are miserable, I believe there may be a correlation between atheism and depression. Let's take a look at why this might be the case....<br />One reason for this might be that atheists do not believe in the afterlife. Religious people do believe in the afterlife, and therefore might simply have a slightly more positive outlook on life. It's easy to feel a little bit more carefree if you imagine that your life will never truly end. Just think for a second about what it is like to look at the short lifespan of the average human and believe that there is nothing to look forward to afterwards. That's a bit of a depressing thought, especially considering that this world is far from perfect.<br />Atheists are also more likely to have high IQs, and are more likely to see themselves as outcasts. IQ shares a positive correlation with rates of depression, and therefore atheism also shares a positive correlation with depression. The demographic with the highest average IQ in the US is the atheistic, politically liberal ashkenazi jew. Having grown up in an area full of such people, I can tell you that many of them are at least somewhat unhappy. I had a teacher once who fit into all of those categories, and he once said to me, "I just don't trust somebody who's not at least a little bit miserable." Always thought that was a great quote. Another possible causse is that atheists are greatly outnumbered by the religious. America is a very religious place, and it can be difficult for atheists when they are challenged and ridiculed by the religious majority (I don't mean to imply that all religious people act this way.) <br />When I was a young boy, I was an atheist, and I remember becoming irritated by other children and adults when they would react to this. I remember being told by one boy that I'd go to hell since I didn't believe in God. Obviously I wasn't worried, as I didn't believe in Hell, but it did bother me that I seemed to be one of the few who didn't belive in God. To me, it seemed irrational to belive in God, and because of this, I started to feel that the average was person was just not that smart. That made me feel a bit like an outcast. <br />As I got a little older, it became easier for me to see the world with a few more shades of grey. For one thing, I realized that it is impossible to either prove or disprove the existence of God, and therefore, the only thing that really makes sense is to be an agnostic...to admit that we can't know for sure whether God exists. I also realized that some people may not believe in God because of some rational insight, but instead because of some sort of profound experience. "Who am I to judge them for that?" I thought. <br />I can tell you that I am not miserable, but of course, I'm not exactly an atheist. Still, I think it's quite possible to love life whether you're religious or not.

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I have observed the opposite. People trying to live a life by other peoples standards and judgement tend to be more miserable. Most Atheist I know including myself are quite happy. You shouldn't mistake our disgust for intolerance and stupidity as being miserable.

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For some of them their life has been "so hard" (maybe?) for them that they've lost faith in a God. I wouldn't know, because I'm not an Atheist. There's always something to live for as far as I'm concerned.

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Atheism has nothing to do with anything but knowing God doesn't exist. That is a relief and clears your mind of all that crap thet weighs so many down. Why go on? Just because there is no God. It's actually a very good reason to go on in fact.<br /><br />As for the return trips, sorry, it's once only so don't waste it on religion.

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I don't think MY 'bad moments' have anything to do with not being involved in religion. Sometimes, I actually believe it's BECAUSE I've been involved with PEOPLE who are involved Too Much into religion. I believe in balance. (very vague answer. sorry)

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The reason is they do not have a hope other than to live their lives out.A Christian has a hope of something better and that can carry a person through a lot of hard times.Go read the story of Job,he had hope regardless of how terrible Satan made his life.

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The most miserable people I have ever met were guilt-ridden superstitious believers who saw the world as a sinful place and couldn't wait to get to heaven. Many now spend their time rotting in the ground. That's the "reward" that awaits us all. Live now; this ain't no dress rehearsal.

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1. Many miserable people are religious. But religion is correlated with happiness, probably because churches serve as support systems and religious beliefs make reality appear more rosy than it really is.<br /><br />2. You have to be very depressed to consider suicide, and even then, our instinct to survive is the strongest one we have.

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No....it's a stereotype of what bigoted Christians like to picture atheists as, to make themselves feel better and give themselves a false feeling of pride, and not a reality. Your delusions are only the truth to YOU, not to the rest of the world.

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Except it is. Heres a stereotype, Jews have big noses, oh wait most of them do. Here's another one, all Christians are white, oh wait most of them are. Here one more, Your an arrogant *****, so you must be an atheist, oh wait you are, BA BUM DISH.